EDUCATION Districts help families, students seeking college tuition assistance
BOOSTING REACH
DIRECT TO COLLEGE PATH INCREASE Since 2010, the chamber reported a 32.17% increase in high school graduates in the Austin metro directly enrolling in a higher education institution, from 6,064 students from the class of 2010 to 8,015 from the class of 2020.
The Austin Chamber of Commerce partners with area school districts, including Leander, Round Rock, P ugerville and Hutto ISDs, on a goal to have 70% of area high school graduates enrolled in college.
BY JENNIFER CASTILLO
eligibility and eliminated questions. “This year there are fewer questions on the FAFSA, which is going to make it a lot smoother for students to complete and get accurate results,” said Karen Serna, Austin Community College director of student nancial wellness and aid outreach. Federal aid can include the Pell Grant—which is awarded to students who display greater nancial need and does not need to be repaid—stu- dent loans and work study funds, Serna said. Additionally, the state uses the Texas Application for State Financial Aid for eligibility for state nancial aid and has a centralized portal for lling out applications through www.applytexas.org. In December 2021, Congress passed emergency relief measures that included the FAFSA Simpli cation Act, to address concerns of diversity in students achieving a post-second- ary education. “I think a lot of [ nancial aid] is about knowledge, and it generally can be confusing for folks who have not been in this realm before,” said Nikkita Butler, Hutto ISD’s school counseling coordinator. The application has now removed the Selective Service registration, a previous requirement for all males to register for the military draft, and the question “are you male or female?” “We advise families to do the appli- cation as soon as they can, and when they have all their documents ready to go with the understanding that nancial aid is given as a rst-come, rst-served basis,” Butler said. In the end, college and career advis- ers such as Butler agree the process should not be done alone. “As a society we need larger conversations about what it means to go o to college and how much that can actually cost the student over the years,” Lewis said. Jennifer Castillo is a reporting fellow for Community Impact and The University of Texas at Austin partnership with a focus our growing and diverse neighborhoods. The project is supported by the School of Journalism and Media’s Dallas Morning News Innovation Endowment.
State and federal aid applications opened Oct. 1 for the 2022-23 aca- demic year, and area school districts are helping families and students with the process. While the promise of federal student loan forgiveness and in ation is in uencing college decisions, LaShanda Lewis, director of counseling services at Round Rock ISD, said students and families should still consider the application before time runs out. Options for nancial assistance include the Free Application for Student Aid, which is used to determine how much aid can be released to pay for a student’s college education. “We saw during COVID-19, there was a decline nationwide of college applications, but with the rise of the cost of living, parents and students may have to think a little bit more about where they go to college,” Lewis said. Starting with the 2021-22 academic year, the state of Texas required all high school seniors to complete a nancial aid application. Lewis said the new state graduation require- ment helps families make informed nancial decisions, even and during a post-pandemic environment. District data from Leander ISD’s Texas Education Agency Account- ability Report for 2021-2022 show that the district scored a 96 out of 100 in college, career and military readiness. Metrics for this rating include the number of students earning minimum scores on national college entrance exams, the completion of college-level classes in high school and earning a qualifying industry credential, among other measures. Several local districts are involved in Austin Chamber of Commerce’s Direct-to-College Plan, which outlines a goal to enroll 70% of graduating high school seniors in higher education. From the DTC70 October 2021 report, 73% of its participants led for the FAFSA, and 66% of DTC70’s graduates were considered, “college ready, led FAFSA.” What could also help students lling out the FAFSA form are the expanded
School district partners
State
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES WHO * : Enroll in college 62% | 41% Are deemed ready for college per state testing 65% | 44% File a FAFSA 73% | 67% File an ApplyTexas college application 74% | 67% Aspire to attend college 90% | N/A
32.17% increase
8,015
6,064
Class of 2010
Class of 2020
SOURCE: AUSTIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE COMMUNITY IMPACT
*AS OF OCTOBER 2021
Prospective college students in Texas have a few options when determining their nancial aid, including lling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the Texas Application for State Financial Aid. Unsure of the nancial aid process?
Quali cations • FAFSA is a federal aid application for U.S. citizens. • TASFA determines state nancial aid eligibility for individuals who are classi ed as residents .
Here’s how to apply.
Filling out the FAFSA 1 Input basic personal information 2 Applicants may list up to 10 schools to receive a college application. 3 The IRS Data Retrieval Tool can also automatically transfer the tax informa- tion from an applicant’s parents. 4 Applicants will need to use their FSA ID. Filling out the TASFA 1 Print the application form and submit it through mail. Some schools may have the option to electronically submit the form. AFTER SUBMITTING, SOME FAFSA TASFA APPLICANTS MAY BE ASKED FOR ADDITIONAL VERIFICATION BEFORE RECEIVING A FINANCIAL AWARD IN THE SPRING. Students and parents register at www.fafsa.gov to create an FSA ID with a username and password to use in lling out forms with a legal signature.
Documentation needed
Social Security number or Alien Registration number 2021 Federal Income Tax returns, W-2’s and any other nancial records required Federal student aid identi cation**
**FOR FAFSA STUDENTS ONLY
Questions? For more information visit: www.fafsa.gov www.collegeforward.org/ college-resources/tasfa-101 www.applytexas.org
SOURCE: FEDERAL STUDENT AID COMMUNITY IMPACT
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